Guts
by Slakolov
Summary: Follow the journey of Ven, the Crew Chief of the most decorated LAAT/i Gunship of the Clone Wars.
1. Chapter 1

Guts

Imperial Munitions Disposal Report #4813_02 / LAAT/i Gunship.

Subject was disposed of via crush pressure and converted into scrap. All weapons systems have been sold and along with most of the computer tech. This particular LAAT is one of the oldest Gunships I've seen. It was one of the first LAATs on Geonosis, and was the last one out. This LAAT has been in every major conflict since the beginning of the Clone Wars, and some in the new Galactic Empire. The LAAT bears multiple scorch marks and other scars all over the hull, and it has been painted to a sand-like color. On the nose has a depiction of a Krayt Dragon and the word "Nehutyc", which is Mandalorian for "Gutsy". The status of the LAAT's crew is listed as MIA, but the Gunship was found under a tarp in a Mandalorian forest six standard days ago. It is unknown who placed it there. Imperial Intel operators are looking into it.

CREW: IP-0486 "Duch" Pilot, IP-0487 "Sairim" Copilot/Gunner, IP-0488 "Ven" Crew Chief.

"Buckets up!" Ven shouted over the packed cargo bay of the LAAT/i gunship. Thirty Clone Troopers looked up at Ven standing in front of the small doorway that lead to the cockpits. Ven raised a fist and counted to three with his fingers. "Three minutes! Check kit!" The Clone Troopers began their routine of checking each others armor and weapons, making sure they were ready for landing. They had all done this countless times before, but this was the first time any of them had seen real combat. It was the first battle of the newly formed Grand Army of the Republic.

"Ven, how's it looking?" That was the pilot, Duch, in Ven's helmet-commlink.

"Dark. Lets open a window, eh?"

Just then the side bay doors of the Gunship bursted open, blinding everyone in the cabin for a second. All the Troopers craned their necks to look at the sprawling desert below. The Gunship, named Nehutyc, or Gutsy, was the third LAAT/i in the massive formation of other Gunships currently descending from the thick clouds. Ven could feel the adrenaline now, and he knew the rest of the Troopers could feel it too.

"One minute. Parjir ner'vods." That was Duch again. Parjir meant "Be Victorious" in Mandalorian. The crew of Nehutyc was trained by Mando pilots, and embraced Mando culture, just like many other Clone units.

"One minute! Prepare for drop!" Ven shouted once more, as he slammed his fist against the first button on the bulkhead beside him, an eerie red light descended amongst the Troopers. They started giving eachother nods, a gesture that usually meant "Good Luck." Ven grabbed the DC-15A mounted on the bulkhead below the buttons and checked the charge and sights.

"Osik!" Sairim yelled over the comm, just as a exlposion rocked the gunship. The LAAT/c that was just flying on their left was gone, replaced by a cloud of flame and smoke. The AT-TE it was carrying fell and exploded onto a rock formation below. The Troopers inside Nehutyc were peppered with shrapnel and soot. They wiped their visors and kept their eyes at the approaching LZ, marked on their helmet HUDS.

Ven watched the POV indicator on the left side of his helmet HUD that showed the view of both the pilots. A swarm of red blaster fire and missiles was shooting past them now, and Ven could see the Droid Army they were approaching.

The Gunship swooped down into the LZ and turned itself to the right, so the left side door was facing the army that awaited the Clone Trooper squad. Ven slammed the next button on the bulkhead and a green light lit up the cabin.

"GO GO GO!" Ven screamed as he raised his Deecee and started firing bursts at the closest Battle Droids. The Troopers hopped off and sprinted into the chaos of the battle that was beginning. Hundreds of LAATs were doing the exact same drop-off routine at the same time of Nehutyc. Blaster fire was striking the Gunship repeatedly. Just as the last Trooper was out, Ven hit the last button on the Bulkhead. The inside lights shutoff and the bay doors screamed shut again. Ven was left alone in the dark. He could see the green light appear in the cockpit through Duch's POV screen. The LAAT/i lifted off and shot back into the clouds.

This was the first of countless drops Nehutyc would make in its long career, and the first of hundreds on Geonosis alone. The Gunship went back into the staging flight plotted around the battle. They flew slowly above the fight until they were needed again.

Ven flipped the small light on his helmet on and looked down at his armor. It was covered in soot and dust. He stood up and put the Deecee back into its rack, and sat down. He took his helmet off and leaned back against the bulkhead.


	2. Chapter 2

Guts - Chapter Two

Nehutyc saw so much action on Geonosis that it was sent back to it's designated Cruiser seven times for repairs. After Geonosis, the Gunship was already painted with battle scars. One day, while the crew of Nehutyc were performing some maintenance on it, something happened that Ven would never forget. He was using his vibroblade to scrape some shrapnel and dust out of a repulser panel under the left wing of the Gunship when a fully armored ARC Trooper strolled up to him. Ven quickly scrambled to stand at attention before the ARC waved him off his stance. Ven relaxed and quickly saluted while the ARC inspected the ship.

"I bet you guys probably have some stories huh?" The ARC said as he turned to face Ven.

"Uh- Yes sir we do. Our baby's been in some tough spots." Ven went back to cleaning out the panel.

"Does she have a name?"

"Yes sir. It's _Nehutyc_, it means-"

"Aaaaah, I know what it means _ner'vod. Oya_, the name fits."

"You know _Mando'a_?"

"Of course, the ARCs were trained by Jango himself."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

"And I didn't know that pilots had Mando instructors. Carry on_, vod. K'oyacyi_" Ven always remembered that brief conversation. K'oyacyi means "Come back safely".

The crew of _Nehutyc _lost track of how many successful ops they completed on Geonosis after twenty. It eventually got to the point where they transported the same Trooper squads multiple times. It upseted Ven though, everytime he would shout 'Buckets up' there would be less and less each time. _ Ten years to build this army to lose half of it in the first battle. Wayii. _

There was one case in particular that Ven would recall a lot. On their fourth Op on Geonosis they had to transport a Republic Commando squad to a Droid manufacturing factory. That was Theta squad, the first Commandos any of the _Nehutyc _met. They lost contact with Theta squad shortly after they inserted, and _Nehutyc _recalled back to the staging route. Ven hated to leave them in there. But they had their orders.

On the last day of the First Battle of Geonisis, _Nehutyc _was there evacuating the last troops off the planet. There was still pockets of fighting going on around the planet, but the Seps were considered beaten. Early in the day one of the members of Theta squad found _Nehutyc _again, looking for his squadmates.

The Commando ran up to Ven, who was sentrying with his Deccee outside the Gunship.

"Hey! You, uh..." The Commando was speaking fast and sounded exhausted.

"Ven."

"Yeah yeah, Ven. Have you seen anyone else from my squad at all?" The Commando squatted on the cracked surface of the planet and took his bucket off to get some air.

"I haven't seen any other commandos since we dropped you lot off. What the hell happened?" Ven asked as he went to sit by the Commando. "What's your name again?"

"It's Vin... Theta squad."

"Ah yes now I remember."

"I'm sorry... gotta find them. Stay here _vod_, I'll be back." And with that the Commando put his bucket back on and ran back through the dust to find his squad.

A few hours later a Commando came walking back up to Nehutyc. Ven didn't think it was Vin though, as this Commando had dents and scorch marks all over his katarn armor.

"You... you were the guys who dropped Theta in right?" Ven was right, it wasn't him. They may have been Clones but they could usually tell eachother apart by subtle differences in their voice.

"Yeah that's us; listen one of your guys was here a couple hours ago, Vin." Just as Ven said it he could tell this Commando lit up under his helmet.

"What? Where did he go?"

"He went looking for you. He said we would come back here. We've been waiting on him."

"_Osik_, I need to go get him..." As the Commando turned around to leave, he lost his balance and fell flat on his _shebs_. Ven walked over to him and crouched.

"Listen _vod_, you're in no shape to go mounting a rescue mission. He said he would come back." Ven put his arm under the Commando's and helped him over to the Gunship and sat him down with his feet hanging out the side. "Can I get you anything?"

"No..." The Commando was clearly out of it.

"Whats your name, _vod_?"

"Darman."

Ven waited with the Commando until night had fallen and _Nehutyc _was the last Gunship in sight. They both had their buckets off, but they could hear Duch in the comm. "Watch your feet." The repulserlifts of the Gunship switched off and softly set down on the ground. Duch came out the inner door of the cockpit and stood behind Ven and Darman.

"You ladies going to look at the stars all night? How romantic!" Dar and Ven both shot him a look.

Darman sighed and said "He's right. He's gone, lets just get out of here. We'll miss the bus."

"You're sure?" Ven stood up and put his bucket back on. Darman did the same.

"...Yeah." Duch went back to the cockpit and started _Nehutyc _up again. Ven sat in his usually spot and looked out at the dark and cold landscape of Geonosis at night. Darman stood alone in the bay. Ven walked over to him and put his hand on Dar's shoulder plate. They were clones of the same human but Darman towered over Ven. Must have been the Katarn armor.

"I'm sorry _ner'vod_." Ven spoke in a low voice. Darman just stood and watched the dusty landscape disappear through the clouds before the doors slammed shut leaving them in the dark.


End file.
